I couldn’t bring myself to visit Helian while she was in the clinic, but thankfully she wasn’t there for long. As promised, she got plenty of rest once she was discharged, mostly reading books in her room with occasional breaks to go for a walk around the estate or join Frost for a meal. Despite the increased workload now that Helian wasn’t available to help with things, her wife still managed to make time for at least two meals every day, which was good to see. I was sure they would both be lonely once she set off for the Hunt.

  The Hunt filled me with anxiety. The two Solanas and the dame seemed to believe this was just an outlier year, but the data did not support that. Alongside the increased threat from monsters, the weather had been unseasonably warm, so it seemed likely the kingdom would continue to experience drought. The duchess had managed her lands well so there was no risk that the people would starve, but I wondered what would happen if all of this continued into the next year.

  On the morning of the order’s departure, I looked out the window to the main gate. The priestesses had doubled in number over the course of the week and had added chants to their protest repertoire. I was relieved that the chants avoided anything that could be considered lèse-majesté and were primarily concerned with the health of the saintess. It worried me that the temple had learned of her condition, given the effort we put into removing their spies from the estate.

  The roster for the Hunt ended up being a mix of veterans and promising young squires, which meant that in practice almost everyone Helian knew from the order other than the dame would be going. I hoped that this would help to reassure her of her wife’s safety, but it concerned me that she might end up lonelier as a result. At least we could hope for their speedy return.

  The days passed slowly, and the date of the order’s departure arrived. After Helian said goodbye to her wife and watched them ride off, she returned to her office and saw to the remainder of the week’s paperwork before having dinner, then retired early for the evening at sunset.

  ------

  Helian did not wake up the next morning. After noon arrived, a healer was called, followed by a physician. According to both, nothing was wrong with her, and perhaps she was still recovering from the sustained period of overwork that had caused her to collapse earlier. Their reassurances did little to ease my anxiety, however.

  The gathering of priestesses outside the front gate had expanded again, and their signs were more elaborate. Some of them had begun playing instruments. At the very least we needn’t worry about them setting up a stage or performing plays, as both activities would require a permit.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Helian remained asleep the next morning as well.

  ------

  I sighed. “The old man’s screwed us again.”

  Solana slammed her fist on the table. “He should know better by now.”

  “It’s obviously on purpose, Sola.”

  The dame was right. His Majesty likely thought this an amusing way to harass Solana. He had no way to know that it was playing into the temple’s hands to this extent.

  Well, he did have ways to know, but until this point there had been no indication that his spy network was paying much attention to Helian, so it was implausible that he would have known when he granted the temple’s request.

  That request was for “A meeting between the Saintess and representatives of the Goddess Metis, to ensure her well-being and provide for her spiritual education.” Under normal circumstances, this would at most be an annoyance that would leave Helian in a bad mood for a week or two.

  Under the current circumstances, it was a disaster. The best we would be able to do was delay the meeting for a couple days and hope that Helian would wake up in time. It seemed likely that on their arrival they would insist on seeing her immediately, though, and word had probably leaked that she had not been wandering the estate lately.

  Perhaps it was best to embrace the disaster and try to bend things to our favor. “We should just come clean.”

  The duchess stared at me, confused. “Why?”

  “If we start the conversation by asking them for assistance, we can set our own conditions before they have a chance to make any demands.”

  Selene nodded. “That could work. The average priestess is not likely to be a skilled negotiator, and if we make them feel like they’re winning, we can manipulate them.”

  Solana crossed her arms. “I still don’t like it. They’ll insist on dragging her off to the temple.”

  “What other option do we have? I can at least go with her.” And if those priestesses try anything, I can handle them.

  She sighed. “I suppose that’s true. We should insist that Helian stays in the county, at least, so that she’s not entirely outside our reach.”

  “Good point, Sola. We can justify it by saying we’re concerned about the impact long travel would have on her condition, so they can’t take her to the central temple.”

  The outlying temples also had fewer guards and younger priestesses, so it would be easier to get my way if the circumstances demanded it. “Good idea. How about I negotiate? People tend to underestimate me, and it won’t seem strange for the saintess’s lady-in-waiting to beg for the temple’s help.”

  Selene sipped her tea and nodded. “Yes, that sounds ideal. Just promise not to stab any priestesses, even if they annoy you.”

  Priestesses did tend to be extremely annoying. “Don’t worry, I learned my lesson the first time. I was confined to my room for a month.”

  The duchess laughed for the first time in days. “I’ve always wanted to knock some sense into one of Metis’s loyal servants, so I shouldn’t be surprised you actually did it.”

  The dame groaned. “I fear for the future of the kingdom…”